We work hard to produce consistent, quality malt. As part of this process, we send every batch to a third party lab which provides us with a full Certificate of Analysis (CoA). A recent review of a discrepancy in color, prompted an interesting discussion between the two laboratories that we use, Montana State University Malt Quality Laboratory and Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage.  Cheers to Hannah (MSU) and Aaron (Hartwick) for the their thoughts and edits on this post!

 » Read more about: Using a CoA for Malting and Brewing – Pt. 3  »

Inside the Matrix….Beta Glucan and Arabinoxylan

𝛃-glucan is a glucose polymer that is found in the cell walls of the endosperm. 𝛃-glucan along with another non-starch carbohydrate called arabinoxylan (or pentosan) comprise more than 70% of the molecular weight of these cells.

High 𝛃-glucan levels in finished malt can lead to a laundry list of headaches for brewers, so it lands squarely on the shoulders of the maltster to manage the degradation of these polymers.

 » Read more about: Using a CoA for Malting and Brewing – Pt. 2  »

Planning for a successful batch of malt or brew day starts with a Certificate of Analysis (CoA for short) which provides a tremendous amount of information about the malt you will be working with. In the early days, these laboratory analyses were cost prohibitive for us….costing upwards of $300 a sample! Thanks to the good people at Hartwick College and Montana State University we are able to test every batch we produce.

What does this mean for our customers?

 » Read more about: Using a CoA for Malting and Brewing – Pt. 1  »

It all comes back to geology

– Brian Simpson

When Brian and I worked together as environmental consultants, that quote was a common refrain. Brian, being a geologist, always took smug satisfaction in the fact that his chosen field had a significant impact on mine (stream and wetland restoration). In short, you have to understand what is going on underneath the surface before you can restore your target ecosystem.

 » Read more about: Exploring the Terrior of Southern Barley  »

We’ve heard it since the beginning…..it can’t be local enough!

– Brent Manning

We’ve offered locally-sourced malt for almost a decade now. While this practice marks a notable improvement in the carbon footprint associated with producing craft beer and spirits, others want to take it one step further.

That is where contract (aka toll) malting enters the conversation. Toll malting allows our customers to bring grain from their family farm to the malt house and then back to the brewhouse or distillery,

 » Read more about: Capturing the taste of home with contract malting  »